Curaçao Possible man behind murder of Dutch reporter in custody
Almost four years after the murder of prominent crime reporter Peter R. de Vries in Amsterdam, one of the suspects behind the crime has been arrested. A 39-year-old Dutchman was flown from the Caribbean island of Curaçao to the Netherlands, the public prosecutor's office in Amsterdam announced.
15.04.2025, 13:29
SDA
De Vries (64) was shot on a street in the middle of Amsterdam in July 2021. He died nine days later. The bloody deed also caused international horror.
Six men have since been sentenced for the murder - to prison terms of up to 28 years. However, it is still unclear who was behind the crime.
Order from the cell
The suspect was reportedly in custody on the Dutch Caribbean island at the time of the crime and was serving a 20-year prison sentence. Investigators suspect that the man may have used a smuggled cell phone to send the perpetrators to de Vries from prison.
He is said to have played a leading role in a criminal drugs and weapons smuggling gang and had links to the criminal network of the notorious criminal Ridouan Taghi. Taghi was sentenced to life imprisonment in Amsterdam in 2024 for several contract killings.
Taghi is considered the main mastermind behind the murder. The reporter was a confidant of the key witness who testified against Taghi. The key witness's brother and lawyer had previously been murdered. So far, however, there is no evidence of Taghi's responsibility.
